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Alienware 18 R1 or Alienware 18 R3? (Alienware newbie question)
Hi!
I would like to know what your thoughts and experience can advice in regards to deciding between these 2 machines.
(I come from the workstation world -Precision M6700 and T7500 with FirePro and Quadro cards-)
- AW18 R1 with i7-4910MQ, dual 980gtx, 1TB SATA, 512 SSD and 32GB RAM with FHD Display
- AW17 R3 with i7-6820HK, single 980gtx, 1TB SATA, 512 SSD and 16GB RAM with UHD/4K Display.
(These are both on sale for 30% refurbished on Dell this weekend for president's day).
Intended uses:
- Gaming (obviously), I play Star Wars the Old Republic mainly, but planning on buying more PC games (Rise of Tomb Raider, fallout 4, etc.)
- Software Development. I use Visual Studio 2015 for work and mobile development.
- Twitch Streaming with Xsplit for both PC games and Console games. (I read that the HDMI input port does not do "capture", so I will have to get an external Hauppauge or Elgato for Consoles).
- 3D Modeling/ANimation. THis last one is more of a hobby of mine, I use 3DS Max and Anime Studio, so no huge hardware requirements here, but it would be nice.
Other features I'm looking for:
- Ergonomics. I want a laptop that is comfortable for long use. My Dell PRecision M6700's keyboard and trackpad make it extremely comfortable to work for extended periods of time (I do use a Logitech MX mouse for added ergonomics and a Razer Naga when gaming).
- Screen Real State. It really bothers me that the 18" caps at 1080p, but I can always use an external monitor when not gaming for better ergonomics, and added resolution. Visual Studio is more "enjoyable" with taller resolutions (heights of 1200 pixels or higher).
- 5.1 Surround support. I have 5.1 speakers and it would be nice if I can use them.
Thanks!